Bay Pines VA step closer to be named for Bill Young

The House planned to formally vote Wednesday to rename Bay Pines VA Medical Center for the late Rep. C.W. Bill Young but approved it Tuesday night by voice vote, meaning there was no objection. Now the bill awaits action by the Senate, which is not in session this week. Once approved, the new name will be the C.W. Bill Young Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

Lawmakers continued to pay tribute to Young. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., said on the House floor Wednesday that funds for biomedical research doubled while Young was chairman of the appropriations committee. “A great leader has passed,” Cohen said. “I was proud to know him.”

On Wednesday night in Washington, the Center for Security Policy was to posthumously present Young with its 2013 Keeper of the Flame Award, given to those who "devote their public careers to the defense of freedom here at home and its expansion throughout the world."

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